The family of Lo Van Long in Muong Cha District has many relatives but had to live in a cramped, dilapidated house.

After a new stilt house was built in the style of Thai ethnic architecture with support from Project 09, Long’s family has no longer been worried about the rain.  

“We are are happy and grateful to the State for helping us build this new house,” said Long.

All family members of Lo Van Hien from dien Bien Dong town felt heartened when their new house was handed over earlier than expected.

Hien told VOV that he himself is chronically sick. His family’s source of income mainly depends on his wife who works as an agricultural laborer and a bricklayer.

 “Surely my family will live differently than in the past because we now have a solid house to protect us from rain and sun. All of us feel very grateful to have such a spacious home,” said Hien.

The dream for many poor families is to settle down and hold a stable job. It took only 200 days and nights for the local authorities and all the ethnic groups in Dien Bien Province to jointly implement Project 09. More than 100,000 working days were mobilized to dismantle the old houses, transport building materials, and build the new homes.

Mua A Vang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Dien Bien Dong District which completed the construction ahead of schedule said that loca people’s involvement played a crucial role.

“If the houses in Dien Bien Dong were built without the people’s participation as in the past, it wouldn’t have been completed early. People responded right from the beginning as they were made aware that the construction was for them and they must directly take part in it. All the 574 houses was done by 574 households, it was much faster,” A Vang said.

Themed “Millions of Hearts Full of Love – Thousands of Happy Homes”, Project 09 was implemented across Dien Bien.

Tran Quoc Cuong, Secretary of the  Provincial Party Committee, recalled that the locals were  very moved when visiting the newly built solidarity houses at the center of which the locals have respectfully hung the national flag and photo of President Ho Chi Minh.

“This demonstrates their trust in their local government,” said Cuong.

The completion of 5,000 solidarity houses has brought the dream of many poor households in Dien Bien to reality. They can now settle down and make a living.